No timeline yet for program to temporarily grant permanent residency to refugee claimants at front lines of pandemic: Mendicino
The federal government appears to be finalizing details around the process for temporarily granting permanent residency status to some refugee claimants working on the front lines of the pandemic, members of a House committee heard Wednesday. Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino (Eglinton-Lawrence, Ont.), who appeared before the Immigration and Citizenship Committee in Ottawa, said there are “significant […]
Get ready for the politics of misery
OAKVILLE, ONT.—You’re probably aware of the expression, “misery loves company.” But did you know that old adage can actually provide the basis for an entire political ideology? Yup, it’s true. After all, if politicians can’t alleviate the suffering of a population that’s under distress, the next best thing they can do is promise that everyone will at […]
Feds’ proposal for national testing framework may invite pushback from provinces, but experts say standards ‘essential’ as economy reopens
As the federal government eyes the development of a national testing and contact tracing framework, public health experts are welcoming the commitment, saying it is crucial that it be drafted collaboratively, to ease any worries that Ottawa is overstepping its bounds. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) told reporters earlier this week in his daily […]
Trudeau, Tam say Canadians can expect different pace for reopening economy across the country
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadians can expect to see jurisdictions enact different measures for controlling the spread of COVID-19, as they grapple with setting the appropriate pace for loosening restrictions in their communities. During his daily briefing with reporters on Wednesday, Mr. Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) sought to assure Canadians that Ottawa and the provinces […]
Feds to eventually share ‘guidelines’ for provinces, territories to begin reopening, says Trudeau
With some provinces looking to gradually reopen their economies as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the federal government is working with jurisdictions to ensure their plans follow agreed-upon “principles,” but Ottawa will not necessarily be vetting those plans, says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Speaking to reporters at his daily, morning briefing on April 27, Mr. Trudeau […]
Politics-as-usual likely to return after COVID-19, but chance for change down the road, say politicos
Although politicians across the country are working across party lines to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, pollsters and politicos are split on whether partisanship and politics will change much, if at all, as a result of the crisis. But some say the personal relationships formed between politicians during the pandemic could last and help in resolving disputes […]
Team Canada shows co-operation pays after 3M mask supply threatened
OTTAWA—As Canada’s COVID-19 containment enters its fourth week, with many weeks still likely to go, a bouquet to some of our political leaders for how they handled U.S. President Donald Trump’s initial efforts to limit 3M from providing N95 respirator masks to Canada. Late last week, in a time when the world needed—and still does—co-operation, […]
Trump administration’s demand for 3M to halt shipment of masks will ‘hurt’ Canada, U.S., Trudeau says
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that the Trump administration’s request demanding that manufacturing giant 3M stop exports of U.S.-made N95 masks to Canada will “hurt” both economies, but stopped short of saying if his government is considering retaliatory measures. Speaking to reporters on Friday from Rideau Cottage, Mr. Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) said that Canada has […]
This changes everything, for a while, at least
CHELSEA, QUE.—After the virus is gone—and it will go—will life, particularly political life, be any different? Will ideology, of any stripe, look like the clumsy, rigid tool that it is, wholly inappropriate for dealing with the mess of a real-life crisis? Will the shared sense of purpose, the empathy for those leading the response, hold—and […]
On the appeal of punching down
TEC DE MONTERREY, MEXICO—In her fantastic new book In The Ruins of Neoliberalism: The Rise of Anti-Democratic Politics in the West, philosopher Wendy Brown discusses Nietzsche’s well-known arguments about resentment and the slave morality. Nietzsche famously opined that for centuries Western civilization had been dominated by a Christian outlook which stresses that weakness, humility and poverty […]
